This thesis deals with the role of the JOS as the principal military advisers of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. It concentrates on the JSC’s perception of Soviet military and political intentions and capabilities in the postwar era and on the JCS’s military proposals regarding the external threat. The purpose of the thesis is to assess the JCS’s role substantively rather than to evaluate the relative role of the JCS as an agency amongst other key agencies dealing with foreign policy.